Only Time Will Tell
by XxLizzie-chanxX
Summary: Things happen for a reason, but what if a mission gone wrong is the only way two former teammates can see what they are missing? Only time will tell. Please read and review!
1. Chapter 1

Hey guys! This is my first fanfic..well one that I posted on here lol anyways enjoy!

Disclaimer~ I do not own Naruto in any way, shape, or for

~Sakura's P.O.V~ 

I ran a hand through my short, pink locks and sighed, today marked the anniversary that Sasuke left 4 years ago. I was sitting on my window sill gazing at the bright fullmoon that out-shone all the stars. Why did I have to choose the boy with a messed up head? That I will never know, but I do know that all my friends are either dating someone or married. I twisted my lips in wry humor. Of course, i never moved on, because only one boy stole my heart. Sasuke Uchiha. Ah how that name makes my heart beat.

With one last look at the moon, I grabbed my jacket and shoes and jumped out of the window into the cool night. As I walked through the village I smiled. You never really notice how beautiful Konoha really is when it is bustling with villagers, but at night it is so peaceful and calm. How it remained that way after Pein attacked and destroyed this village, I will never know. But I do know that I will enjoy it.

I then took notice of the direction i was heading. A bittersweet smile formed on my lips. 'The bench' is the last place I saw a certain missing-nin, before he became the cruel and ruthless man he is today. I dreaded passing this place, because of all the painful memories it held. How ironic though.. I came to this place on the anniversary when this person left. When I approacheed the bench I ran my hand along it's smooth stone surface. I glanced at the surrounding area. How can such a beautiful, peaceful area become victim to such painful memories?

"Screw you, Sasuke," I huffed sitting down on the bench.

"Hn," the familiar monotone of a certain Uchiha grunted.

I looked up to glare at the man, "What are you doing here?" I questioned with suspicion laced through my voice.

He smirked, "I could ask you the same thing, Sa-ku-ra," he took a step towards me.

I stood up and turned to leave, when a cool grasp caught my wrist. I seethed at the offending hand. I sighed, making it seem like I was giving in to him. So, he pulled me towards him, wrapping me in his arms. I gasped as I was caught off guard. I looked up at him and kissed him on his cheek, surprising him in return.

I smirked inwardly, "Now it is my turn to thank you. If you never left this village I would not have seeked Tsunade-shishou for training to get stronger. So," I quickly snaked my hands behind his neck, his eyes widening in shock, "thank you."

I tapped the back of his neck knocking him unconscious. I decided to bring him to the Hokage's office. They'll know what to do with him. I smiled, maybe he will stay for good and realize what he si missing out on. And who knows, maybe we'll be together, maye not. Only time will tell.

Well that's that! Hope y'all liked it:) Please review, anything that will help make me a better writer.

~lots of love, Lizzie-chan


	2. Chapter 2

**OMG! I am soo sorry for updating late! Anyways i ust want to say thanks to my reviewers! Sorry I didn't update, I was busy and wasn't able to reach a computer. Anyways, basically the first chapter is the prologue. This is the OFFICIAL first chapter, just to clear things up :) Hopefully there won't be as many grammatical errors as there was in the prologue. Once I posted and read what I posted, I was infuriated by all the stupid little mistakes I made -.- I felt like an idiot for not going back over what I posted, but eh it is out there now... On to the story!**

**Diclaimer: I dont own Naruto ( I wish I did though...)**

Chapter One: New Beginnings?

-Normal P.O.V.-

Months flew by after Sasuke appeared in Konoha. Naruto, excited as ever, immediately demanded to see Sasuke the moment he found out, but of course Tsunade wouldn't let him. Sakura busied herself with paperwork and shifts at the hospital, so she never had anytime to spend with her friends or do anything for that matter. Naruto tried to persuade Sakura to stop working, but she always came up some excuse claiming that Tsunade needed something done A.S.A.P. One day, though, Naruto finally caught Sakura on her off day...

With the sun shining through the opened curtains, Sakura woke up slowly. Since it was her off day she decided to relax and take it slow. Once Sakura was fully awake she went to her kitchen to fix herself a big breakfast and some coffee. While cooking grits someone seemed eager for the pinkette's presence.

" Sakura-chan! Open up I know you are off!" a rambuncious blond known as Naruto shouted through the door.

Sakura, rubbing her throbbing temples, opened the door before Naruto could destroy what's left of her eardrums, " What do you want, Naruto?"

He grinned at her, " I want you to come with me to Tsunade's office.. We have a mission!"

Without warning the blonde took Sakura's wrist and beggan to drag her to the Hokage's tower. Many villagers laughed at the sight of the feared ANBU captain being pulled by Naruto. They knew that they had a brother-sister relationship, so to others it wasn't surprising to see that.

They finally reached Tsunade's office and Sakura was able to stop naruto before he could tear down her master's door yet again. Once she calmed the blonde down, Sakura opened the door not prepared for what she was about to see.

Sasuke Uchiha.

The moment Sakura saw him she almost high-tailed it out of there, except Naruto's hand n her shoulder kept her from doing so. She sighed in defeat and walked up to Tsunade's desk completely ignoring the Uchiha.

" What is it that you want shishou?" Sakura asked seething.

Tsunade cleared her throat, " I want you, Sasuke, and Naruto to go scout a village for me. There has been reports of Akatsuki sightings and also claims that villagers are disappearing. While scouting try to figure out what's the cause of the disappearances. You will leave tomorrow at noon, be prepared for anything. Sasuke is captain of this mission. Once completed, report back to me and we will come up with a plan. For ow do not engage in combat. Understood? Good. You may leave."

With that said the three ninjas disappeared. When Sakura got home, she was furious. How dare they stick on her on a mission with him and make him captain. She was ANBU for crying out loud. She decided to get her things ready for tomorrow to get her mind oof of things. It worked. She busied herself with getting herbs, getting her ANBU gear set, and packing other necessities.

" Ok, done. Ugh, tomorrow is going to be a longg day. I can already tell," Sakura grumbled to herself.

As soon as the sun went down Sakura went to sleep not wanting to get up at all tomorrow.

**Well that is all! Wonder what is going to happen on the mission? Good. Then when the next chapter comes out you will know ^_^. Anyways please review! I do love it when people review, it helps me with wanting to update the story. Your reviews are what inspires me to go on. So click that little button down there and leave me a good review:) Try to give me some constructive criticism. That will definitely help. Til next time!**

**~ Lots of Love, Lizzie-chan**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter two is here and ready for action! Thank you to all those who reviewed and stuck around:) Please do continue! Anywaaayyss.. On to the story!**

**Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine.. it will never be :'(**

Ch. 2: Mission Gone Wrong

-Normal P.O.V.-

Sakura woke up around 7:30 to prepare for the mission she has been dreading. She made sure to eat well and began to check over her supplies, making sure that everything she needed was there. Even though Tsunade specifically told them not to engage in combat, it wouldn't hurt to bring along some medical supplies just in case. As she was finished packing, Sakura glanced at the clock. It read 11:00.

'Phew, I didn't take as long as I thought I would...' Sakura mused while getting dressed in her ANBU gear.

When Sakura gathered everything that she needed, she poofed out of her apartment. She knew that Tsunade wants them to leave as soon as possible, so she appeared at the front gate ready to leave. There was no one at the meeting point yet, so sakura decided to relax against a nearby wall. Not long after Sakura closed her eyes, she heard footsteps approaching.

"We have five more minutes before we are to leave. So where's the dobe?"the lone Uchiha questioned in the same monotonous tone he always spoke with.

Sakura shrugged her shoulders casually, "How am i suppose to know? I'm not his babysitter."

Silence answered her back, not that Sakura really expected a response from the anti-social Uchiha. Sakura didn't feel the need to say anything more so remained quiet. Out of no where, a loud shout interrupted their silence. Sakura sighed in irritation, annoyance flashing through her eyes.

"I think I found Naruto,"she muttered pushing herself off of the wall she was resting on.

"Hey guys! Ready for the mission!"the said blonde eagerly asked his teammates once he reached them.

Instead of a reply, Naruto's teammates ignored him him and began to walk out of the village with Naruto shouting 'Hey!' after them while running to catch up. Naruto had many failed attempts at trying to strike up a conversation with his fellow comrades, so he gave up with a defeated sigh and continued walking without uttering another word.

The trip to get to the village only took a day. They were halfway there when it started to get dark.

"Okay, we need to set up camp for the night. Naruto, you try to catch some fish for us to eat. There is a small stream about 15 meters North from here, so it shouldn't be that hard to find. Sakura, you set up the tents and a place where I can put the firewood. Alright?" Sasuke commanded, with a nod of heads everyone started to do their assigned jobs.

It didn't take long for Naruto to come trampling through the woods holding up three fish with a triumphantgrin etched on his face.

"I got our food!"he announced setting them down on a piece of cloth Sakura had laid next to the fire pit.

Sakura giggled a little, "Naruto, it isn't tthat hard to catch fish,"she giggled some more while skinning the fish.

"Sakura-chaaan! Those fish were hard to get! They are slippery little suckers," Naruto pouted that his pride got shot down by the beloved pinkette.

"She is right you know,"Sasuke smirked placing wood in the fire pit and blew fire onto them.

Naruto huffed,"Psh! Wahtever, Teme!"

After they ate and the fire died out a little, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura settled in to go to bed. Well, first they chose who is going on what watch. Naruto was on first, Sakura was on second, and Sasuke was on third.

First watch for Naruto went by pretty fast, then it was time to get Sakura up for second shift, "Sakura-chaan, get up it's time for you to go on watch," Naruto whispered into Sakura's ear, gently shaking her.

Sakura woke up immediately, "Okay, Naruto. Get some rest. I'll let you and Sasuke know if anything comes up."

Naruto nodded his head groggily and the second his head hit the ground, he was out. Sakura then jumped up into a tree to get a better look at her surroundings. Feeling around for chakra other than her teammates, she caught onto something unfamiliar. Sakura then grabbed a kunai and jumped down holding up the weapon, prepared for any attack. What she didn't notice was that the enemy was right behind her. When a hand laid itself upon her shoulder, Sakura managed to get out a scream before going unconscious.

The boys, both hearing a girlish scream, scrambled out of their sleeping spaces with kunai in their hands. Sasuke took the chance to search for Sakura's chakra only to find that her chakra completely disappeared.

"She's gone! Naruto c'mon! We have to go look for Sakura and quick before anything happens to her!"Sasuke barked out to Naruto while activating his Sharingan.

'Wow, I've never seen Sasuke this distressed over Sakura-chan being kidnapped.. I hope she is okay. Sakura-chan, we are coming for you!' Naruto thought following Sasuke through the woods.

~Sakura's P.O.V.~

"Ungh... Where am I?" I questioned sitting up, my vision was slightly blurred, but I was able to look around me.

I noticed I was in a darkened room with only a candle as the only source of light. I also noticed that I was chained to a wall. Trying to summon all the strength I had, I pulled against the chains on my wrists. But to no avail, I could not break them. This is what happens when I let my guard down. Now I have no chakra, which means I have no strength to get me anywhere. I guess I will have to wait until an opportunity shows itself to me so I can break out of here.

The opening of the door brought me out of my thoughts. The person that walked through the door was someone I was not expecting.

I gasped " You're..."

** Cliffy! I hope that this chapter satisfies you all until I can upload the next one. Which I have no idea when that will be, but I will try my best to update soon! Sooo, wondering who walked through the door? The first person to guess it right will be featured in my next chapter! :) Anyways, please review! No flames though.. Only constructive criticism and nice reviews ^_^. See you!**


	4. Chapter 4

**I decided to edit this chapter (thanks to chronicxxinsanity, you have helped out alot!) I hope this edited version is way better and more suitable for all of yall! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. If I did Sasuke wouldn't be such a buttface :D**

Chapter Three: Expect the Unexpected

Sakura gasped, "You're..."

"Well, well my dear. It seems as though you have yourself in quite some predicament, eh?" the slimy voice of none other than Orochimaru rang out through the room

"I thought you were dead!" Sakura shouted in disbelief, struggling against the chains.

Orochimaru chuckled darkly, "Ah, now that's a secret I'm not sharing. Now why don't we have a little chat? I would to know how your training with Tsunade went," Orochimaru sat in a chair near Sakura but not close enough for her to touch him.

"As if! I wouldn't talk to you even if you were the last living cell in the Universe!" Sakura spat out in disgust, just him talking to her gave her chills.

"Suit yourself, Sakura-chan. All I have to do is keep you here until your beloved teammates show up, then I will have the Kyuubi and the Sharingan right in the palm of my hands!" Orochimaru grinned sadistically making sure Sakura understood EXACTLY what he meant.

"There is no way in hell I will let that happen. I am NOT going to be used to get them for you to rise in power. I am pretty sure not even your 'noble' right-hand man will aid you anymore," Sakura replied visciously.

"Now that, Sakura, is where you're wrong," a female voice answered instead of Orochimaru.

Sakura cried out in horror, " Oh no.. Not you, Ino! What in the hell made you decide to work for this pathetic excuse of a man?"

The said blonde walked into the room, no type of emotion displayed on her face. She turned towards Sakura and smirked a little.

"Why? Well, once Sasuke-kun and Naruto gets here, Orochimaru promised that Sasuke-kun and I will be together. All we have to do is lure them here and get rid of _you_. Then, I will have Sasuke-kun _all_ to myself! Ha! Who won now, Haruno!" Ino cackled like a mad-woman.

Sakura just sat there in shock. She definitely did not expect that one. After all this time, Ino's crush on Sasuke did not disappear. Sakura then slumped back against the wall. What could she do now that she was stuck? She has no chakra or weapons. So what now? A plan began to form in her head, now only if she can get Ino to get closer to her.

"Feh, I really don't think Sasuke will want to be near someone who is a pig. Yeah, porkers, that's right. _You're a pig!_" Sakura hissed out the one thing that Ino ever hated being called.

"Take that back, Billboard Brow! Sasuke-kun will fall in love with me and we'll get married and have a family!" Ino screeched stomping towards Sakura.

"No, Ms. Piggy. He will see the pigness inside of you and be repulsed by it. He will _never_ love _you_. Why would he? What makes you worthy of being an Uchiha? Huh, Pig?" Sakura sneered at the fuming blonde who was currently coming towards her.

'That's right. Keep getting closer aaand..' "Gotcha!" Sakura cried out wrapping her legs around Ino's.

With one tug, the blonde was on the ground. Her neck within Sakura's reach. In one swift movement, Sakura had Ino's neck between her chained hands. Smirking at Orochimaru, Sakura laughed.

"If you let me go, she will be released. Unless.. she meant nothing to you? Merely a pawn in your game. If that's the case.." Sakura began to squeeze Ino's neck.

"O-orochimaru-sama! Please help me! PLEASE! I will do anything. _Anything_!" Ino screamed in terror.

Orochimaru sat in his chair, contemplating his options. With a sigh, he stood up and walked over to Sakura. She tightened her hold on Ino's neck, glaring at him.

"Now, now, Sakura-chan. I won't hurt you, but I would like my loyal servant back," with that being said, Orochimaru somehow got around to knock Sakura out.

Ino gasped as air filled her lungs, "Stupid pink-haired brat! I can't wait until her annoying self is gone for good," Ino snarled rubbing her neck and walking out of the room.

"Patience, my dear. It will happen in due time, but you have to admit she is an interesting girl," Orochimaru said thoughtfully, walking out along with Ino.

"Yeah, as interesting as a dirt floor. I'm going to get some rest," Ino mumbled and disappeared around a corner.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Sasuke! Do you even know where we are going!" A frantic shout from Naruto reached Sasuke's ears.

Sasuke ignored the blonde, especially when he felt a flare of _very _familiar chakra. That only made him pump more chakra in his legs to fly through the forest, not even making sure if Naruto kept up with him. All he had was one thing on his mind. Get Sakura. If something happened to her, Sasuke wouldn't know what to do with himself. So, in hopes of finding her, Sasuke stayed on track with the chakra he sensed. Maybe that is where she is. Only one could hope so.

"SASUKE! I know you want to get her back as much as I do, but we at least have to send Tsunade-baa-chan a message!" Naruto tried to reason with Sasuke.

Sasuke slowed down considerably, " Fine, but lets make this quick. We can not afford to waste anymore time," Sasuke then summoned a hawk and wrote Tsunade a message and sent the hawk on its way.

Naruto relaxed a little, "Thanks, Teme. I don't think Tsunade would have been happy if we continued after Sakura-chan without telling her."

"Hn. Lets go," Sasuke began to go after the chakra trail once more.

'Sakura we will find you. Don't worry!' Sasuke thought closing in on the source of chakra that he picked up.

** So I know all of you are wondering why Ino is with Orochimaru and why Orochimaru is alive. But that will be told in a later chapter so bear with me! I want to thank all of you who has reviewed, reading them makes my day even better ^_^ So please continue reviewing! Thanks for sticking with me and i shall have the next chapter up soon. bye!**

**~Lots of love, Lizzie-chan**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello again! I just want to thank everyone for the reviews, alerts, and favorites! Seeing that people like my story (even though they don't review) makes me extremely happy. Sorry it has been so long since I updated, but school has been hectic and I just had no time at all to write the next chapter. Plus side of that is that I am passing Per-Calculus! And I am terrible at math haha. So with all my grades being good and all, I hope y'all don't get mad at me for taking so long to update, because I do have to work really hard in order to maintain good grades in school.. anywho on to the story!**

**~ I do not own Naruto D: (sad I know right!)**

Chapter Four: Say what!

When Sakura finally woke up she knew that she had to find some way to get out of the predicament that she has found herself in. Two things that she did want to know was why Ino is with Orochimaru and how did Orochimaru survive?

Upon hearing footsteps approach the room she was being held with, Sakura closed her eyes and pretended to be knocked out still. The door creaked open, a blonde girl poked her head in to see if the pinkette was still out. Thinking that Sakura was unconscious still, Ino slowly walked over to the chained up girl.

"Not as tough now, are you, Sa-ku-ra?" Ino mocked, getting eye-level with said girl.

**'Take it slow, Sakura. Don't surprise her just yet. Let her keep talking, maybe she will reveal why she is here," Inner Sakura advised.**

'Inner! Where have you been! And I hope she does reveal why she is here.. I am really curious as to what Orochimaru did to convince a loyal shinobi to deflect from her village..' Sakura mused to Inner Sakura.

**'Remember Sasuke? What did he leave Konoha for?' Inner questioned.**

'Power. But that's not what Ino said!' Sakura exclaimed.

**'Yeah, but do you really believe that? Now pay attention to what she is saying. I will be here when you need me,' with that inner disappeared.**

Ino continued rambling, having no clue as to what just had happened.

"Oh, you want to know what is so delightful! I get to get Sasuke-kun and rule the ninja world! Isn't that amazing! Orochimaru is going to make all my dreams come true! Eek!" Ino gushed in excitement.

'This isn't Ino. I know for sure that Ino is over Sasuke, number one. And number two, she has the ability to enter someone's mind and control them..hmm' Sakura thought waiting for the right moment to grab the imposter.

"So, what am I going to do with you once Sasuke-kun is in my hands? Hmm?" 'Ino' smirked trailing a finger down Sakura's cheek.

This was when Sakura's eyes snapped open and smirk, "You are going to let me go and tell me who you really are unless you want your pretty, little neck snapped in two," Sakura grabbed the girl by her throat, since the chains were long enough the let Sakura's hands go in front of her body.

"W-what! Impossible! How are you, a mere ninja, able to figure out that Iam not really that blonde bimbo?" the girl shrieked clawing at Sakura's hands.

Sakura gave the girl a fake smile,"Now that will be telling, eh?"

Sakura began to squeeze the girl's neck,"Who are you? Tell me, now!"

"I-I am one of Orochimaru's experiments.. He created me to replicate anybody that I choose. I can also replicate anyone's chakra and steal all of their justus. Please let me go!" the girl cried.

"Tell me one more thing. How did Orochimaru survive? Sasuke disposedof him along time ago," Sakura demanded.

The girl shuddered,"He survived because he created another person like me to replicate him and die to make it seem that Orochimaru was really dead."

Sakura pondered over this newly found information,"Thank you, now get these chains off of me. If you help me out I will guarantee a new life for you. One where you can be yourselfand not have to worry about all of this. But that is only if you help me out," Sakura offered.

The girl froze in shock,"I will help," she unlocked Sakura's chains and helped her up.

"Okay, Orochimaru is usually in his lab creating more experiments. We have to watch out for some of the one of them walking around. They won't hesitate to kill us. Come on," the girl began to walk out of the room.

Sakura stopped her,"What is your name?"

The girl smiled,"Riku."

"Okay, let's go, Riku" and they were off to really destroy Orochimaru.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

The boys were still looking for Sakura.

"Sasuke, do you sense that?" Naruto questioned, stopping on a tree branch.

Sasuke stopped, also. He focused his Sharingan on the forest ahead. He then nodded at Naruto,"Yeah, seems like there is a massive amount of chakra 178 meters north of here."

"Do you think Sakura might be there?" Naruto asked curiously.

Sasuke shrugged,"I don't know. It is a possibility that she is. We might as well go check it out just in case. Now let's go," Sasuke ended their conversation and kept moving.

Naruto followed soon after.

** That is all for chapter four! I hoped you all enjoyed! So I am wondering, do any of y'all have suggestions for something to happen at any part of the story? Like do y'all have ideas as in to what should happen in the future? whether it has to do with destroying Orochimaru or ome Sasusakuness.. anything will be appreciated. The person whose idea I choose will be mentioned in the next chapter ^_^! So.. Review!**

**~Lots of Love, Lizzie-chan**


	6. Chapter 6: Author's Note IMPORTANT!

**I am sad to say that I have no idea as to where I am going with this story. ** **I just can't seem to find the ability to continue with this. I'm sorry to those of you who has stuck by with me for the first few chapters. But I am offering the idea of someone taking this story on and continuing it. I will relinquish the rights to you as long as you acknowledge me as the original creator of the story. You can add/change things in the story (but don't change it completely). Anywho, anyone who wants to take on this story just message me, but remember first come first serve. Who ever messages me about the story, I would love to help in any way I can (if you need it that is) like I said this story will be yours to continue. Please let me know and again I am really sorry about not not continuing. Though I am going to come up with a new story. One that is well thought out and planned, so it will probably be a while before I post anything new (unless it's a one-shot). Anyways thank you all for reading up until now! Don't forget to message me if you want to continue the story!**

**~Lots of love, Lizzie-chan**


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